Israel Folau nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year

14 November 2017, 05:51 | Henrietta Morgan

Israel Folau nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year

Folau is one of five world-class players on the shortlist for the prestigious title with the victor to be announced at the World Rugby Awards ceremony at the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo on 26 November.

Folau is the 10th Australian to be nominated for the award since it's creation in 2001 after George Gregan, George Smith, Phil Waugh, Matt Giteau, Chris Latham, David Pocock, Kurtley Beale, Will Genia and Michael Hooper.

He celebrated his 50th test against Samoa with a two-try, 24-point haul and a piece of All Blacks history alongside his brothers, and finished the Lions series as top point-scorer with 41.

The Breakthrough Player of the Year will be contested by three players - Argentina's Emiliano Boffelli, New Zealand winger Rieko Ioane and France centre Damian Penaud.

England captain Sarah Hunter won the award for the best player in the world past year, with four previous English winners in Michaela Staniford (2012), Carol Isherwood (2008), Maggie Alphosi (2006) and Shelly Rae (2001).

The Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2016, Itoje is nominated for this prestigious award for the second year running after continuing his impressive form in 2017.

Trending Now

Here's how long you have left to spend your old £10 notes
Its days have been numbered since the new polymer tenner, depicting author Jane Austen, entered circulation in September. The Bank of England has revealed that the old paper note featuring Charles Darwin will expire on 1 March 2018.

Xbox One X hits 80,000 United Kingdom sales in first week
Best Buy stores will open at 5 p.m. local time on Thanksgiving Day on November 23 until 1 a.m. of the following day. Marking a big week in Microsoft's career, new data has placed the new Xbox One X console beyond the stratosphere.

Supermarket prices rising at fastest rate in 4 years
Tesco saw sales growth of 2.3 per cent as its market share dipped to 28.0 per cent, down 0.2 percentage points on previous year . Sales at Aldi increased by 13.1 per cent, advancing the retailer's market share to 6.7 per cent.

Vodafone rebounds into first-half net profit
In a double dose of cheer, Vodafone also hiked its full-year earnings growth targets from between 4% and 8% to around 10%. The stock of Vodafone Group plc (LON: VOD ) earned "Buy" rating by UBS on Tuesday, October 27.